The current Super Bowl Champions (NFL) are the Kansas City Chiefs.

The current World Series Champions are the Texas Rangers.

The current best QB in the league is Patrick Mahomes.

Nikola Jokic triple-double number: 25

The Indian Premier League (IPL), also known as the TATA IPL for sponsorship reasons, is a men's Twenty20 (T20) cricket league held annually in India. Founded by the BCCI in 2007, the league features ten city-based franchise teams.^[3][4] The IPL usually takes place during the summer, between March and May each year. It has an exclusive window in the ICC Future Tours Programme, resulting in fewer international cricket tours occurring during the IPL seasons.^[5]

The IPL is the most popular cricket league in the world; in 2014, it ranked sixth in average attendance among all sports leagues.^[6] In 2010, the IPL became the first sporting event to be broadcast live on YouTube.^[7][8] Inspired by the success of the IPL, other Indian sports leagues have been established.^{[a][11][12][13]} In 2022, the league's brand value was estimated at ₹90,038 crore (US$11 billion).^[14] According to the BCCI, the 2015 IPL season contributed ₹1,150 crore (US$140 million) to India's GDP.^[15] In December 2022, the IPL achieved a valuation of US$10.9 billion, becoming a decacorn and registering a 75% growth in dollar terms since 2020 when it was valued at $6.2 billion, according to a report by the consulting firm D and P Advisory.^[16] Its 2023 final became the most streamed live event on the internet, with 32 million viewers.^[17]

In 2023, the league sold its media rights for the next 4 Seasons for US$6.4 billion to Viacom18 and Star Sports,^[18] meaning each IPL match was valued at $13.4 million.^[19] As of 2023, there have been sixteen seasons of the tournament. The current champions are the Chennai Super Kings, who won the 2023 season after defeating the Gujarat Titans in the final.^[20]

History

Winners
Indian Premier LeagueSeasonWinners2008Rajasthan Royals2009Deccan Chargers2010Chennai Super Kings2011Chennai Super Kings (2)2012Kolkata Knight Riders2013Mumbai Indians2014Kolkata Knight Riders (2)2015Mumbai Indians (2)2016Sunrisers Hyderabad 2017Mumbai Indians (3)2018Chennai Super Kings (3)2019Mumbai Indians (4)2020Mumbai Indians (5)2021Chennai Super Kings (4)2022Gujarat Titans2023Chennai Super Kings (5)

Inspired by a rival

In 2007, Zee Entertainment Enterprises founded the Indian Cricket League (ICL).^[21] The ICL was not recognized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the International Cricket Council (ICC). Moreover, the BCCI was unhappy about its committee members joining the ICL executive board.^[22] In response, the BCCI increased the prize money for its domestic tournaments and imposed lifetime bans on players who joined the rival league, which it considered a rebel league.^[23][24]

Foundation

On 13 September 2007,^[25] following India's victory at the 2007 T20 World Cup,^[26] the BCCI announced a franchise based Twenty20 cricket competition known as the Indian Premier League. The inaugural season was scheduled to start in April 2008, commencing with a "high-profile ceremony" in New Delhi. BCCI Vice-president Lalit Modi, who led the IPL initiative, provided details of the tournament, including its format, prize money, franchise revenue system, and squad composition rules. The league, to be managed by a seven-man governing council, would also serve as the qualifying mechanism for that year's Champions League Twenty20.^[25]

To determine team ownership, an auction for the franchises was held on 24 January 2008. The reserve prices for the eight franchises totalled $400 million,^[24] but the auction ultimately raised $723.59 million.^[27] The league officially commenced in April 2008, featuring Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Daredevils (DD), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Deccan Chargers (DC), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).^[28]

Following the ban on players who chose to participate in the ICL, the rival league shut down in 2009.^[29][30]

New franchises, Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, joined the league before the fourth season in 2011.^[31] The Sahara Adventure Sports Group purchased the Pune franchise for $370 million, while Rendezvous Sports World bought the Kochi franchise for $333.3 million.^[31] The Kochi franchise was terminated after just one season due to their failure to pay the BCCI the 10% bank guarantee element of the franchise fee.^[32]

In September 2012, the Deccan Chargers franchise agreement was terminated after the BCCI failed to find new owners.^[33] In October, an auction was held for a replacement franchise; Sun TV Network won the bid for what became the Hyderabad franchise;^[34] the team was named Sunrisers Hyderabad.^[35]

Pune Warriors India withdrew from the IPL in May 2013 due to financial differences with the BCCI.^[36] The BCCI officially terminated the franchise in October, and the league reverted to eight teams.^[37]

In June 2015, the two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the inaugural season champions Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons following their involvement in a spot-fixing and betting scandal.^[38] The two teams were replaced for two seasons by franchises based in Pune and Rajkot.^[39][40]

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the venue for the 2020 season was moved and games were played in the United Arab Emirates.^[41][42] In August 2021, the BCCI announced two new franchises, based in two of six shortlisted cities, would join the league in the 2022 season.^[43][44] In closed bidding held in October, the RPSG Group and CVC Capital won the bids for the teams, paying ₹7,000 crore (US$880 million) and ₹5,200 crore (US$650 million), respectively.^[45][46] The teams were subsequently named Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.

Several IPL franchise owners have expanded their business by acquiring teams in other franchise leagues, such as the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), South Africa's SA20, the UAE's International League T20 (ILT) and the USA's Major League Cricket (MLC). These teams have been branded with similar names to their parent IPL franchises.^[47]

Organization

The IPL's headquarters are located in the Cricket Centre, next to the Wankhede Stadium in Churchgate, Mumbai. The Governing Council is responsible for the league's functions, including the organization of tournaments. As of April 2023, its members included:^[48]

• Arun Singh Dhumal – Chairman^[49][50]

• Jay Shah – Secretary of the BCCI

• Ashish Shelar – Treasurer, BCCI

• Avishek Dalmiya

• Pragyan Ojha – Indian Cricketers' Association's representative

• Alka Rehani Bhardwaj – Comptroller and Auditor General of India nominee

Player acquisition, squad composition, and salaries

A team can acquire players through the annual player auction, trading with other teams during trading windows, and signing replacements for unavailable players. Players sign up for the auction^[51] and set their base price and are bought by the highest-bidding franchise. Players unsold at the auction are eligible to be signed as replacement signings. In the trading windows, a player can only be traded with consent; the franchise pays any difference between the old and new contracts. If the new contract is worth more than the old one, the player and the selling franchise share the difference. There are generally three trading windows – two before the auction and one between the auction and the start of the tournament. Players cannot be traded outside the trading windows or during the tournament, but replacements can be signed before or during the tournament.

Other notable rules, as of the 2020 season, include:

• The salary cap of the entire squad must not exceed ₹85 crore (US$11 million).^[52]

• Under-19 players cannot be picked unless they have previously played first-class or List A cricket.^[53]

Player contracts run for one year but can be extended by one or two years if the franchises take up the option. Since the 2014 season, player contracts have been denominated in the Indian rupee, before which the contracts were in the US dollar. Overseas players can be remunerated in the currency of the player's choice, at the exchange rate on either the contract due date or the actual payment date.^[54] Before the 2014 season, Indian domestic players were not included in the player auction pool. They could be signed up by franchises at a discrete amount while a fixed sum of ₹10 lakh (US$13,000) to ₹30 lakh (US$38,000) would be deducted per signing from the franchise's salary purse. This received significant opposition from franchise owners, who complained richer franchises were "luring players with under-the-table deals." The IPL later decided to include domestic players in the player auction.^[55]

The BCCI give 10% of foreign players' salaries to their country's national cricket board.^[56]

According to a 2015 survey by Sporting Intelligence and ESPN The Magazine, the average IPL salary when pro-rated is US$4.33 million per year, the second-highest of sports leagues in the world. Because players in the IPL are contracted only for the duration of the tournament – less than two months – the weekly IPL salaries are extrapolated pro data to obtain an average annual salary, unlike other sports leagues in which players are contracted by a single team for the entire year.^[57]

According to a report by The Telegraph, IPL players are paid 18% of the revenue, which is the lowest amount compared to other major sports leagues, in which players receive at least 50% of the revenue. The Federation of International Cricketers' Associations said that IPL players must be paid fairly.^[58][59][60]

Prize money

The 2022 season of the IPL offered total prize money of ₹46.5 crore (equivalent to ₹49 crore or US$6.2 million in 2023), with the winning team netting ₹20 crore (equivalent to ₹21 crore or US$2.7 million in 2023) and the second-placed team ₹13 crore (equivalent to ₹14 crore or US$1.7 million in 2023).^[61][62] League rules mandate that half of any prize money must be distributed amongst the franchise's players.^[63]

Unique rules and variations

The IPL has several rules which vary from the established Laws of cricket or those used in other Twenty20 leagues:

• IPL games incorporate television timeouts. Each team is given a two-and-a-half-minute "strategic time-out" during each innings. One must be taken by the bowling team between the seventh and ninth overs and the other by the batting team between the 14th and 16th overs. A penalty may be imposed if umpires find teams misusing this privilege.^[64]

• Since the 2018 season, the Decision Review System (DRS) has been used in all IPL matches, allowing each team two opportunities each innings to review an on-field umpire's decision.^[65] From the 2023 season, this was extended to allow the review of wides and no-balls.^[66]

• If the bowling team does not complete its overs in the allocated time, it may place only four fielders outside of the fielding restrictions circle for the remainder of the innings,^[66] or the match referee may impose financial sanctions on the bowling team after the match, with players fined a proportion of their match fee.^[67]

• Teams can use a substitute, termed an "impact player", from a list of five players named as possible substitutes. The substitution can be made before the start of the innings, when a wicket falls, when a batter retires or at the end of an over. Both teams can introduce a substitute once per match.^[68][69]

• Teams can declare their playing eleven to the match referee before or after the toss.^[68]

• A five-run penalty is imposed if a fielder or wicket-keeper makes an unfair movement while the bowler is bowling and the ball is designated as dead ball.^[70][66][68]

• Teams can include four overseas players in their playing eleven.^[69]

• Teams must include 25 players, with a maximum of eight overseas players.^[71]

• From the 2024 season, bowlers will be allowed to deliver two bouncers an over. This change in playing conditions was trialled during the 2023–24 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India's domestic T20 tournament.^[72]

Teams

Timeline of teams

Tournament seasons and results

Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have each won five titles, the most in the tournament. Kolkata Knight Riders have won two titles,^[74] while Rajasthan Royals, Deccan Chargers, Sunrisers Hyderabad and Gujarat Titans have each won a single title.

The reigning champions are the Chennai Super Kings, who defeated the Gujarat Titans by five wickets in the 2023 IPL final to secure their fifth title.^[20]

Awards

Main article: List of Indian Premier League awards

Orange Cap

The Orange Cap, introduced in 2008, is awarded to the highest run-scorer at the end of each season. It is an ongoing competition with the current highest-run scorer wearing the cap whilst fielding. The eventual winner keeps the cap for the season. Brendon McCullum was the first player to wear the Orange Cap and Shaun Marsh the inaugural winner of the award. Australian batsman David Warner has won the award three times, more than any other player.^[79] Shubman Gill of Gujarat Titans, who scored 890 runs during the 2023 season, is the most recent winner of the award.^[80][81]

Purple Cap

The Purple Cap is awarded to the highest wicket-taker at the end of each season. It is an ongoing competition and the bowler who is the leading wicket-taker wears a purple cap whilst fielding. The eventual winner keeps the cap for the season. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dwayne Bravo are the only players to have won the award twice.^[82][83] Mohammed Shami of Gujarat Titans who took 28 wickets during the 2023 season, is the most recent winner of the award.

Most Valuable Player

The Most Valuable Player award, formerly called the "Man of the Tournament" until the 2012 season, is awarded using a ratings system introduced in 2013. Shubman Gill won the award in 2023.

Fair Play Award

The Fair Play Award is given after each season to the team considered to have the best fair play record. After each match, the two on-field umpires and the third umpire score the performance of both teams, with the highest-scoring team at the end of the season receiving the award.^[84] The 2023 winners were Delhi Capitals.

Emerging Player Award

The Emerging Player Award was presented to the best under-19 player in 2008 and the best under-23 player in 2009 and 2010. In 2011 and 2012, the award was known as "Rising Star of the Year," and in 2013 the "Best Young Player of the Season." Since 2014, the award has been called the Emerging Player of the Year. Mustafizur Rahman is the only foreign player to win this award.^[85] The 2023 winner was Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Maximum Sixes Award

The Maximum Sixes Award is presented to the player who hits the most sixes at the end of the season.^[86]

Finances

This section needs to be updated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (May 2022)

See also: List of professional sports leagues by revenue

Title sponsorship

Title sponsorship fees^[87]SponsorPeriodEstimated annual sponsorship feeDLF2008–2012₹40 crore (US$5.0 million)Pepsi2013–2015₹79.2 crore (US$9.9 million)Vivo2016, 2017₹100 crore (US$12.5 million)2018, 2019, 2021₹440 crore (US$55.1 million)Dream112020₹222 crore (US$27.8 million)Tata2022–2023₹335 crore (US$42.0 million)2024–2028₹500 crore (US$62.6 million)^[88]

From 2008 to 2012, the IPL title sponsor was DLF, India's largest real estate developer, which bid ₹200 crore (US$25 million) for the rights for five seasons.^[89] After the 2012 season, PepsiCo bought the title sponsorship rights for ₹397 crore (US$50 million) for the next five seasons^[90] but terminated the deal in October 2015, two years before the expiry of the contract, due to the two-season suspension of the Chennai and Rajasthan franchises from the league.^[91] The BCCI transferred the title sponsorship rights for the remaining two seasons of the contract to Chinese smartphone manufacturer Vivo for ₹200 crore (US$25 million).^[92]

In June 2017, Vivo retained the rights for the next five seasons from 2018 to 2022 with a winning bid of ₹2,199 crore (US$280 million).^[93][94] On 4 August 2020, Vivo canceled the title sponsorship rights due to the military stand-off between India and China at the Line of Actual Control in July 2020.^[95] The withdrawal was also a result of Vivo's market losses due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic; Vivo intended to return as the title sponsor for the following three years.^[96] Dream11 became the title sponsors for the 2020 IPL for an amount of ₹222 crore (equivalent to ₹261 crore or US$33 million in 2023).^[97] Vivo returned as the title sponsor for the 2021 IPL season^[98] but withdrew again, and was replaced by the Tata Group for the next two seasons.^[99] InsideSport reported the BCCI would receive ₹498 crore (US$62 million) for the 2022 and 2023 seasons from title sponsors. Vivo had previously agreed to pay a higher amount for the last two seasons of its sponsorship contract due to the league's expansion from the 2022 season. According to InsideSport, due to the new deal's structure, Tata would pay ₹335 crore (US$42 million) per year while Vivo would pay the deficit of ₹163 crore (US$20 million) per season.^[100][101]

Saudi Aramco brought the rights to advertise on the Purple and Orange caps in 2022.^[102]

Payments to foreign national boards

The BCCI pays ten per cent of the auctioned value of players to their national cricket boards. In January 2018, IPL chairman Rajiv Shukla said the IPL would double the amount paid to cricket boards that made their players available for an entire season.^[103] In 2022, Australian Cricketers' Association expressed its unhappiness about this.^[104]

Brand value

The IPL tournament rapidly grew in value between 2016 and 2018. Financial experts valued the IPL at US$4.16 billion in 2016; that number grew to $5.3 billion in 2017 and $6.13 billion in 2018. A report from Duff & Phelps said one of the contributing factors in the rapid growth of the IPL's value was a new television deal with Star India Private Limited, which engaged more viewers because the IPL was transmitted to regional channels in eight languages; under the previous deal, the transmissions were limited to sports networks with English-language commentary.^[105][106]

According to an independent report conducted by Brand Finance, a London-based company, after the conclusion of the 2017 Indian Premier League, the IPL's business value grew by 37% to an all-time peak of $5.3 billion, exceeding the five-billion-dollar mark for the first time in a season. According to the company's director Savio D'Souza:

Now in its 11th season, the Indian Premier League is here to stay. The league has delivered financially for the players, franchisees, sponsors, and India as a whole, prompting a strong desire among stakeholders to value it appropriately. To ensure continued development, management, and team owners must explore innovative ways of engaging fans, clubs, and sponsors.^{[107][relevant?]}

In December 2022, the IPL became a decacorn valued at US$10.9 billion, registering a 75% growth in dollar terms since 2020 when it was valued at $6.2 billion, according to a report by consulting firm D & P Advisory.^[16]

Brand valueTeamYear202320222021Brand valueRefBrand valueRefBrand valueRefMumbai Indians₹9,962 crore (US$1.2 billion)^[108]$83M^{[109][110][108]}$80M^[109]Kolkata Knight Riders₹8,428 crore (US$1.1 billion)^{[citation needed]}$77M$66MChennai Super Kings₹8,811 crore (US$1.1 billion)^{[citation needed]}$74M$76MRoyal Challengers Bengaluru₹7,853 crore (US$983.5 million)^{[citation needed]}$68M$50MDelhi Capitals₹7,930 crore (US$993.1 million)^{[citation needed]}$62M$56MRajasthan Royals₹7,662 crore (US$959.5 million)^{[citation needed]}$61M$34MSunrisers Hyderabad₹7,432 crore (US$930.7 million)^{[citation needed]}$49M$52MGujarat Titans₹6,512 crore (US$815.5 million)^{[citation needed]}$47MN/APunjab Kings₹7,087 crore (US$887.5 million)^{[citation needed]}$45M$36MLucknow Super Giants₹8,236 crore (US$1.0 billion)^{[citation needed]}$32MN/A

In 2022, the BCCI took insurance of ₹5,000 crore (US$630 million) for the IPL. This insurance policy involves all stakeholders, including broadcasters, ancillary services providers, and sponsors. The BCCI is covered in the case of any revenue losses due to weather, riots, and other unforeseen events.^[111]

Broadcasting

2023–2027: Star Sports and JioCinema

The next cycle of IPL media rights will last from 2023 to 2027 and will be put to auction.^[112] In this auction, the broadcasting rights were divided into four packages. Package A was for domestic television rights, and Package B was for domestic digital rights. Package C was for the digital rights of eighteen non-exclusive matches, and Package D was for international television and digital rights, further divided into four groups. On 13 June 2022, it was reported the packages for domestic television and streaming rights had fetched at least ₹397.75 billion (nearly US$5.1 billion) in total, doubling the value of the 2018–2022 contract.^[112]

The next day, it was announced that Star Sports had renewed its contract for television rights by winning package A, and that a Viacom18 consortium had exclusively acquired the streaming rights by winning both Package B and C.^[113] The two contracts for Package A and B are cumulatively valued at around US$6.2 billion; with the new contracts, the IPL overtook the Premier League in English football as the second highest-valued sports media property worldwide, behind only the NFL, whose new media contracts taking effect in the 2023 season cumulatively fetched US$111 billion.^{[114][115][116][117]}

In February 2023, Viacom18 announced it would stream the 2023 IPL for free on JioCinema with feeds in 12 languages, including English and regional languages, and in 4K resolution.^{[118][119][120]} The same month, The Walt Disney Company reported its loss of the IPL had contributed to a net loss of 2.4 million Disney+ subscribers worldwide, primarily in India.^[121][122]

Ahead of the 2023 IPL, Star launched HD feeds of Star Sports 1 in Tamil and Telugu and announced its free-to-air channel Star Utsav Movies would carry twelve matches. It was anticipated viewership of Star Sports' broadcasts may not be heavily impacted by the Jio deal due to its existing market reach (including as rights holder of India's home matches) and viewers who preferred linear television due to being less familiar with over-the-top services, or concerns over technical issues associated with such services. JioCinema reported the IPL had 1.4 billion views on the service over the opening weekend, which was higher than the entirety of the 2022 season on Disney+ Hotstar.^[123][124] The 2023 final set a record for the most concurrent viewers of a livestreamed event, peaking at over 32 million viewers (surpassing a record of 25.3 million set by Hotstar during the 2019 Cricket World Cup).^[125][126]

List of broadcasters

TerritoryChannels and Online streamingYears

 IndiaStar Sports 1 HD
Star Sports 1 Hindi HD
Star Sports 1 Kannada
Star Sports 1 Tamil HD
Star Sports 1 Telugu HD
Star Gold HD
Star Bharat SD
Star Utsav Movies SD
Star Jalsa Movies SD
Star Maa Movies SD
Star Suvarna Plus SD
Star Vijay Super SD2024–2027Jio Cinema (Internet)2024–2027

 AfghanistanATN HD
ATN News HD2024https://www.arianatelevision.com/live/2024

 AustraliaFoxtel
Fox Cricket
Kayo Sports
Kayo Freebies (Internet)2023–present^[1]

 BangladeshT Sports HD2024T Sports APP2024

 IndonesiaVidio (Internet)2023^[127]

 New ZealandColors TV2024–present

 PakistanTapmad APP
https://www.tapmad.com/watch/watch-ipl-2024-live-free/1107512024

 IrelandSky Sports
DAZN2023–present

 United Kingdom

 South AfricaSuperSport2023^[1]

 Sri LankaSupreme TV2023–presentThe Papare.com
https://live.thepapare.com/event/indian-premier-league-2024

 United StatesWillow TV2023^[1]Middle East and North AfricaTimes Internet2023^[1]Sub-Saharan AfricaSuperSport2021–present

Controversies

IPL spot fixing

In the 2012 IPL spot-fixing case, the BCCI gave a lifetime ban to Deccan Chargers player TP Sudhindra and suspended four other players.^[128] In a sting operation, Pune Warriors India player Mohnish Mishra was recorded stating that IPL franchise owners pay their players through black money. Mishra had later apologized for his incorrect statement.^[129][130] On 20 May 2012, police detained Rahul Sharma and Wayne Parnell when they were caught during a raid at a rave party at a suburb of Mumbai; both the players denied taking drugs or drinking alcohol.^[131] However, it was later proven that in reality, they had taken banned drugs after police tested their urine and blood samples in a lab.^[132]

In the 2013 IPL spot-fixing and betting case, Delhi police arrested players Ajit Chandila, Ankeet Chavan and S. Sreesanth on allegations of spot-fixing; they received a lifetime ban from the BCCI. Police also arrested Gurunath Meiyappan, Chennai Super Kings' team principal and son-in-law of then BCCI president N. Srinivasan, for illegally betting on IPL matches and passing team information to the bookmakers.^[133][134]

The Lodha Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court of India, banned Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Chennai Super Kings (CSK) for two years. The CSK's team principal Meiyappan was found guilty of betting and bringing the IPL and the game into disrepute. After this, the BCCI banned Meiyappan from involving in the game. Justice RM Lodha said that due to all this fixing-betting matter, the reputation of the game had been hurt quite grievously. "Disrepute has been brought to cricket, the BCCI and the IPL to such an extent that there are doubts abound in the public whether the game is clean or not," Justice Lodha said. He further elaborated his Committee's observations and said it had proved beyond doubt that Gurunath Meiyappan, the CSK's team principal, was heavily involved in betting on his team.^[135]

Strategic timeouts

In its 3rd season in 2010, the IPL administration brought a new rule: "strategic timeout" of seven minutes and fifty seconds duration in each inning. Franchises and Sachin Tendulkar disapproved of it. Many saw it as the BCCI's use of 'extended drinks break' to earn money; it faced widespread backlash.^[136][137] Then IPL president said that the rule is intended to allow teams to make strategies amid the game. Still, critics disagreed with this argument and said that the strategic time-out is a way to generate money. Later, the BCCI reduced its duration but still applied it.^[137]

These timeouts boost the IPL's revenue; every 10-second slot gets sold for ₹5 lakhs or more.^[136][138] Due to these time-outs, an IPL match halts four times for more than 10 minutes. As per Sunil Gavaskar, along with many other reasons, strategic timeouts delay the IPL matches, and they do not end at the stipulated time of 3 hours and 10 minutes, instead end after 4 hours.^[139] Amid the Super Giants against Mumbai Indians eliminator game in 2023, on-air he uttered, "How many times batsmen get out after a strategic timeout," indicating that it plays negative role in immediate fall of wickets by disrupting concentration of the batters.^[140]

Some cricketers have criticized strategic timeouts for interrupting the flow of play. In the past, it even faced a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) with the possibility that ST breaks were being used by bookies to connect with the players. In the past, IPL's stakeholders admitted that STs are unavoidable because they give the BCCI and broadcasters additional time for more ads. In 2013, after a spot-fixing matter, then-president N. Srinivasan got sacked due to a pending inquiry, and Jagmohan Dalmia got appointed as interim president. Dalmia expressed openly that he wants to end STs and take other measures to restrain malpractices in the IPL.^[136]

Incidents with players

In the 2008 edition, after a game, Harbhajan Singh, who was playing for Mumbai Indians, slapped S. Sreesanth. The IPL fined and banned him from the remaining entire edition. However, years later, he apologized to Sreesanth for it on TV and said that he was ashamed for doing it.^[141][142]

In a 2022 interview, Yuzvendra Chahal revealed two incidents of physical harassment that happened with him, while he was with Mumbai Indians. In 2013, at a party of the team in a building, a drunken teammate took him to the balcony, overpowered him and hung him from the 15th floor of the building. Yuzvendra said he narrowly survived that day.^{[143][144][145]} In another incident, two teammates including Andrew Symonds tied him, gagged his mouth and threw him in a room of the hotel. He remained the whole night alone in that room. When the hotel room service arrived in the morning, they untied his hands and legs.^[146] He did not reveal the names of the offenders involved in the first incident. Reacting to these revelations, Virender Sehwag expressed that he wanted Yuzvendra to reveal the offender's name and furious Ravi Shastri expressed that the offender should be banned.^[144][145]

In 2010, the BCCI banned Ravindra Jadeja from the IPL for one year after he violated the IPL guidelines by not signing a renewal contract with his team Rajasthan Royals, and instead negotiated a more lucrative contract with other teams through the back door.^[147]

Rajasthan Royals ownership dispute

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In April 2010, the BCCI president Shashank Manohar said in a press conference that the IPL governing council didn't know who the owners of Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Punjab team are. The initial bid for RR was made by a person named Manoj Bhandale. After that, other firms from Mauritius were added as shareholders. In response, Shilpa Shetty tweeted that she was a proprietor of RR. Regarding the Punjab team, Manohar revealed that in the team bidding event, only Preity Zinta was interested in buying that team. She said that she would form a firm. She did it and signed a bid agreement with the BCCI. However, Preity did not have a single share in her name in that firm. Manohar alleged that Shetty and Zinta violated the agreement as prior permission of the BCCI is mandatory before transferring ownership shares with other people.^[148]

N. Srinivasan's ownership of CSK

In 2010, an e-mail leaked in Indian media, according to an Economic Times article, said that former IPL president Lalit Modi helped then-BCCI president N. Srinivasan to buy Andrew Flintoff in the auction for his team Chennai Super Kings (CSK).^[149] Srinivasan was criticized for owning an IPL team due to his conflict of interests. Former BCCI president A. Muthiah filed a lawsuit against Srinivasan in the Supreme Court of India; he claimed that Srinivasan altered the BCCI's rules to allow himself to purchase a team. The Lodha Committee banned CSK from the IPL for two years when their team principal, Gurunath Meiyappan, was found guilty of betting and providing inside information to bookies.^[150] The supreme court criticized Srinivasan for buying an IPL team while serving as the BCCI president; a judge commented, "How can a BCCI chief own a team?".^[151] However, he still own the team and his daughter Rupa Gurunath often appear in stadiums amid CSK's games.

Australian players' dispute with their board

Due to the BCCI giving one-tenth of foreign players' salaries to their respective country's national cricket boards, a dispute between Australian cricketers and Cricket Australia started. The Australian Cricketers' Association also opposed the arrangement.^[152]

Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar's sweat equity in RSW

In 2010, the IPL president revealed that the Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor's wife Sunanda Pushkar has sweat equity share in Rendezvous Sports World (RSW), the proprietor of Kochi Tuskers Kerala team. Opposition party BJP agitated against the Indian National Congress. Later, it was revealed that Pushkar has ₹70 crore equity in RSW. Tharoor offered to leave his equity, but many within the Congress party felt that by doing this, Tharoor pleaded guilty. Due to pressure, the Congress party demanded his resignation. He was the first minister of United Progressive Alliance 2 who got slammed for his illegal moves.^[153]

Slow over rates

The IPL frequently gets criticism due to the slow pace of its matches. During the 2023 season, Jos Buttler mentioned on Twitter to speed up the pace of the play. An IPL match should end within 3:10 hours of the stipulated time, but it often ends after 4 hours. As per Gavaskar, strategic timeouts, reserve players running on the field with drinks and messages amid games, and batsmen asking for helmets result in these delays. The introduction of strategic timeouts was also suspected to be for monetary reasons since it allows for more ad slots.^[138] Field umpires sometimes penalize teams by restricting them to field just four fielders outside the 30-yard area, or match referees penalize by cutting captain's – team members' match fees, but it has not solved the problem. Games often run at a slow speed and finish late. During the 2024 season, Rishabh Pant, captain of Delhi Capitals, and Shubman Gill of Gujarat Titans were fined ₹12 lakhs each for their teams' slow over rates during matches against the Chennai Super Kings.^[154] Millions of viewers feel that IPL matches should be fast-paced.^[155]

Negative impact on international cricket

Former India captain Kapil Dev claimed that there was an increasing risk of injury to Indian players from playing in the IPL. He felt that some players avoided the national team's matches, yet appear in all of their IPL fixtures.^[156]

Exclusion of Pakistani players

Following the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai and the attack on Sri Lankan team in March 2009, geopolitical tensions surged between India and Pakistan. It led to several outcomes, one led to Pakistani players being unofficially forbidden to play in the IPL.^[157] While they had been selected by several teams for the inaugural IPL season (2008), their contracts were terminated before the 2009 edition. This situation endured "due to political tensions".^[158] Among critics of BCCI and IPL owners is Imran Khan, who has said they "take it out on Pakistan players". He accused the BCCI of "arrogance" but also stated that "Pakistan should not worry about it".^[159]

Simplest Stuff

9 players on a team. 2 teams. The field is shaped like a diamond. Both of these teams take turns hitting and fielding.

What does the hitting team need to do? Hit it away from the players on the field (preferably out of the park). If they hit the ball, they can get on base, which is another thing you want to do. If you circle all the bases and touch home base LEGALLY, you get a run.

What does the team on defense need to do? Prevent batters from becoming runners, and prevent runners advancing around the bases.

Both teams switch back and forth between batting & fielding. One turn of batting = half of an inning. 2 halves of an inning = 1 inning. There are 9 innings in a baseball game.

Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played.

3 strikes to get an out. 4 balls to get a walk.

Until 2022, baseball had no time regulations, and that’s probably why some games went to 4 hrs and 37 min. Pitchers have 15 seconds between pitches when there are no baserunners (person/people on base) and 20 seconds when there is at least one baserunner (a person on base). Additionally, the batter will have seven seconds to be in the stance, ready to hit, otherwise a strike will be called. The clock starts when the pitcher gets the ball and the catcher and batter are ready.

Adding on to Simplest Stuff

As many people know, each team plays/represents a city. The team that is playing in their own stadium is the home team. The home team always fields first, and the away team always hits first.

If it is the 9th inning. The away team finishes batting its side and the home team is winning, the home team doesn’t need to bat again because even if it doesn’t score runs or if it does score runs, the home team will still win.

Any other questions? Just put it in the comments section or email me at sportssquare.substack.com.

How to get a strike?

If you swing and miss or if you don’t swing and the ball is in the strike zone.

Most Controversial Part of Baseball

The strike zone.

The strike zone is a box where, if a baseball is pitched, it should be called a strike. But…

The umpires.

You know how in football, people always complain about the referees throwing flags!? It is especially important.

In baseball, it is the same thing. I mean, look at this!

We’re only looking at this from the batters’ perspective. What about the pitchers’?

The MLB is getting Robo-Umps soon, though. How do we know this? They’re trying it out in the minor leagues. But, what the heck is that?

Minor Leagues

The MLB has a lot of different layers to it. The people you watch on TV? Those guys are pros. But, many people don’t know… 60 more people are trying to compete for those 12 position player spots, so that spot is sacred.

Why is this number so high for one team? That’s because there are 4 divisions of minor leagues. The minor leagues are like a development stage and if you succeed, you get to the pros. If you don’t? Well, that’s why baseball is the hardest sport to go pro.

It starts with Rookie. The people who have this classification play a shortened season of about 60 games, and it is based on two US leagues. The Arizona League and the Gulf Coast League. This is for players to show off their skills and no sales are made for the teams.

After this is Single-A. Part 1 of the A divisions. Most of the people here are a mix of rookie players & first-year players.

Part 2 of the A division is High-A. It is the advanced part of the A division. This level is a second or third promotion if you start in the rookie league, but many high-drafted players, start here.

Double-A. There are three conferences in this league. Eastern, Southern, and Texas leagues. Many players jump from here to the majors immediately, skipping Triple-A. The next level & the last level of the minor leagues. Very few players will be placed here to start, and these people are mostly people from foreign countries.

Triple-A. Oh, yeah. In this league, there are 2 conferences. The International League and the Pacific Coast League. Most of the people here are in a team’s 40-man roster. This means they could be promoted to the pros without the team having to make any moves. Some players are career minor league players. Why? If you’re in the minor leagues, you can still become a millionaire in career earnings.

Leagues. Olympic Sport?

The Olympics are coming soon, just to put that on your radar.

This sport is played all around the world. We have subscribers all around the world as well, but the majority comes from the USA, so we’re going to hit that up real quick. The more we grow, the more the article will get updated, so don’t worry about that.

Here’s a bit of Wikipedia.

In Major League Baseball (MLB), the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played at the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated in 2020.

Positions

Every single person playing on the field hits other than the pitcher. There used to be a rule in the NL where the pitcher could hit, but they have now changed that, and the NL is doing what the AL was always doing. Having a Designated Hitter. This person doesn't play any field position but only hits.

Many people sit on the bench, either taking the day off (as the MLB has a 162-game season) or waiting to get subbed in. Once you get subbed in, the person who subbed out cannot come back to the game.

Regular Terms and Terms Commentators & I Use

I’m going to put a few basics here, but I’ll share a link to another source, so you can see even more.

1-2-3 inning: An inning in which a pitcher faces only three batters and none safely reaches a base. "Three up, three down."

No hitter: The starting pitcher allows no hits, but allows a walk.

Walk: The pitcher doesn’t throw right 4 times, and the hitter gets a free base.

Perfect Game: This is when the pitcher does not let a person on base. This means no hits & strikeouts.

ERA: This means earned run average. Example: Bob, the pitcher, allows 1 run his first game. In his second game, he allows 3 runs. What is the average? 2, so he would have a 2.00 ERA

There are so many baseball terms, that I can’t put them all here. But, you can check them out here.

Baseball Terms Xtra

I hope you’ve understood the basic part of the game. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me at sportssquare@substack.com or in the comments below.